Kira up for change
by Rei-Rachael
Summary: The hardships of a young girl help to shape the way she lives. So far, it is more about the main character who I created, but VK will be brought into it starting Chapters 2&3!
1. Prologue

There was a loud crashing noise, and the footsteps of a slightly stout man could be heard coming swiftly towards the kitchen. A young girl could be heard whimpering as she hastily tried to clean the mess up before her father came bursting through the door. "You stupid girl! You broke another cup have you?! We shall see if you ever do it again." A rough voice smelling of whiskey and food wafted across a little girl's nose.

"No! Father, please don't. I won't do it again I swear!" The small child whimpered as she tried to speak above his rage.

There would be a slight metallic noise as the man pulled off his belt. "You're damn right you won't do it again!" He spun her around roughly, her face hitting the wall in their small kitchen. Sharp color went around her vision, and she screamed. His belt had caught her back, the buckle hitting her shoulder. This went on for what seemed like hours in the girl's mind. When her father had gotten his fill, he left her crumpled on the floor, gashes on her back bleeding through her thin shirt. He left as he always had, to go in search of whores and booze. The small child's mother had left them two years ago, when the girl had been 5 summers old.

Shortly after her father had left, she pressed one small palm to the wall and one to the floor as she tried to push herself up. A crash at the door made her whimper and curl up, fearing her father was already back.

There were multiple footsteps, along with slightly muffled voices in the next room. The girl's head started to spin, pain and confusion making the back of her head throb. She faintly saw the cloaked figures that had scarves over their faces. She heard them say, "Oh, my poor dear. We should have come sooner." The voice was soft, but age had made it husky. The other figure who had not spoken lifted the child into his arms, the muscle in his chest and shoulders relaxed slightly as the girl rested in his arms.

After she heard the softer voice speak, the girl passed out, faintly feeling someone lift her. They had wrapped her in a thick blanket, and the soft click of the door and the cool breeze barely registered in the child's mind as they left her home.

All the while, as the strangers took the girl back to their home, images flashed through her mind of the night her mother left. Her father had always blamed it on her, even though it was common knowledge that he beat her and his drinking had caused them to become very far into debt. There were times, when things got especially hard for her and her father, he would drink more and often times he threatened to sell her or make her become a prostitute. He often beat her because no one would allow such a young child in their beds and the beatings that he gave her made her weak at times when he offered her to slave dealers. This often only angered him more, and she would not be able to wake up for a day sometimes because he beat her so badly.

The wind against her cheeks made her slightly conscious of what was going on, but there was a dream like haze around the occurrence. She felt both frightened and relieved at the same time, not sure if her father had finally succeeded in selling her off or if these were just kind people who were finally able to take her away from the home she was in.


	2. Chapter 1

Kira awoke with a start, her chest moving quickly and traces of sweat glistened on her forhead and neck. Even 10 years later, memories of her past and her less-than-welcome home with her father haunted her.

She reached to her right shoulder, feeling the scar from one of the blows that very night she was saved. The buckle from her father's belt had hit her so hard that it had left a mark on her shoulder, right under where the shoulder cuved up into the neck. A tear streamed down her sun-kissed cheeks and sh brushed it away.

"Kira! Are you awake yet child?" A husky, yet feminine voice came through the door, followed by a slight squeak as the door opened. "Ah, there you are child. Goodness you look so pretty in the sun." The elderly women of about 53 years smiled through thinned lips and deep pools-of-green eyes. This was Lady Edie, and one of Kira's saviours. The older women seemed to blossom with youth in her old age, her now silver hair still silky and shined in the sunlight of the morning.

"Good morning Lady Edie. It is so good to see you since we last parted at supper." Kira smiled gentally up at the women. Kira's own grey-blue eyes and brown hair seemed dull to her, the bottom of her hair curling above her waist. "What is up for schedule this morning?"

"We are to ride out today actually. We need to gather a few things." Kira looked up, surprised. The home, rather large as it was, lay quite a ways from town. It was the occupied fortress of the region in which they all lived. "What is it that we are getting?" Kira asked quietly.

"You shall see my child. Now is time for breakfast, yes?" Edie pulled open the curtains of the room, dust floating through the air. Kira sat up and brushed out her hair with an onyx brush that had been given to her by one of the ladies here. Once her hair was up and braided, she washed off, and slipped on pants that clung mid-calf and a quarter-sleeve shirt.

Outside, a more youthful gentlemen of about 29 waited with horses for Kira and Edie. This was one of the other people who saved Kira, named Thomas. Kira often had training with him, after many months of insisting he teach her. Each lady took one of the horses, after donning short swords. Thomas followed after them, keeping guard.

After arriving in town, Edie and Thomas had left Kira in the square, which was buzzing with people at the moment. Kira was still dazed from the dream she had last night.

"Are you alright miss?" A strange, but attractive voice muttered behind her. "It is not very often we get such maidens as yourself in Antella."

Kira looked up, the sun half blinding her. There was a boy, or man rather, standing next to her. Fair hair covering his forhead. He smiled almost as a young women might, sweetness poured from his visage and his deep, dark eyes almost seemed as an endless hole. She felt as if she should be afraid, but at the same time she was entranced by him. When she realized she was acting strange, Kira shook her head in annoyance. "And who might you be?"

"Well miss, I am Kaname. And what might your name be?" He flashed her a quick smile. She looked at him, completely flustered. "M-my name is Kira."

"Ah, such a lovely name. It was very nice to meet you. And just like that he walked away, disappearing into the crowds.

"Kira are you alright?" As Kira turned her head, she saw Thomas standing beside her with bags of items and groceries. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Must have spaced from myself for..." before she could finish, Thomas said "Alright, well Lady Edie is waiting for you over at the clothing shop. It would be rude to keep her waiting."

Kira followed Thomas to where Lady Edie was. From what Kira could tell, Edie had picked out a few elegantly colored dresses, each seemingly for a coutier. "Umm, Edie... what's all of this for?" Kira looked curiously at the dresses. "It's for your coming out ball."

Kira took a few deep breathes, and then screamed in her brain. Kira hated balls... there was always too many people around. "M-my what?! Edie, why in the world would I need a coming out ball?" Thomas backed away from the conversation slowly, and completely ran as soon as he could. Edie stared at Kira, not so much out of shock, but tired irritation. They had had such conversations before, Edie trying to get Kira to wear something more feminine and Kira strongly disagreeing. The dress Edie held up was mid-blue that cinched at the waist and had thin straps over the shoulders that had slightly cut-off sleeves attached at the back the hang loosely over one's arm. "Edie the dress id beautifuk for a lady, but I am no such thing. You know this."

Lady Edie rubbed her temples in frustration, making the lines in her forhead more visible. "Kira, love, would you please just try on a few dresses? Pretty please?" Kira sighed in frustration and, unwillingly, took her coat off and slipped the dress over her clothes. It fit well enough, of course Edie would have ti being the bust in a little. Kira had the common shame a lot of flat-chested girls secretly had in the back of their minds. Sometimes, they deeply urged to have the swelling mounds that seemed to bless everyone around them but, of course, them. As Kira looked in one of the dust-coated mirrors at herself in the dress, she couldn't help but wish at being raised differently. Having a mother who would have shown her from early on what being a lady meant and that she had a father who was nothing short of a gentleman. She loved Thomas and Edie with all of her heart, but somertimes she just wished for everything she did not have as a child when she was growing up.


	3. Chapter 2

It was worse than Kira could have ever imagined. For the passed 3 months, Edie has been teaching her as much as she could about being lady-like and how to behave in a proper manner at the dining table. Thomas, masculine as he was, was a well-off dancer. He showed her simple dances such as the English Waltz and such. He mainly told her to pay attention to her partner and let him lead her, not try to overpower him. The day had finally come when the horrid ball was to be. Many guests had begun showing up early in the week, and some had still not yet arrived. Kira sat in her room, her hair up but loose, framing her face gentally, as she was finishing the last touched on her make-up and making sure that her hair was will enough in place. She had met many of the guests as they visited, most of them young, single gentleman, that Kira came to notice. She started to get an inkling of what a coming out ball was for, and she didn't like it. If getting married and moving far away was the whole point, she wanted nothing to do with it. She wanted to stay right where she was with Lady Edie and Thomas.

When Kira thought of Thomas, and this whole situation, she wondered if he would be attending the ball tonight or not. She was not sure about whether or not she wanted him to go either. When she thought of their practice sessions, but visually placing herself in her dress, her cheeks heated up a bit and her eyes close.

"Kira! Come out already, or have you drowned in your gown?" Thomas called from the other side of the door. Being Edie was busy, she couldn't come up and get her, but Thomas wasn't allowed in Kira's room without knowledge that she was properly dressed and even hen he may have to be accompanied inside of her room. "I will be right out Thomas. I just need to fix a few more things." As she said this, Kira began to feel even more unsure about what was going to take place tonight. She finished checking her hair and make-up, taking a deep breathe, and gather up her skirts and walked out the door where Thomas was awaiting her to escort her to the ballroom where the other guests were presently arriving. As Kira walked a little closer to Thomas, hooking her arm into his, she thought she saw a hint of red on his throat above his collar, but she thought nothing of it. Thomas continued to escort her down the hall, where she could see trimmings of flowers of every possible color you could think a flower could be.

He knocked on Kira's door very lightly, hoping she wasn't asleep because he didn't think he could work up the nerve to walk in there alone. Her response made him aware that she was nervous, and somewhere back in his mind he was as well but he knew there was no reason for him to be, he thought. As he heard her rustle around and opened the door, he was sure what he would see would be nothing close to extravagant, but he was so wrong. The light blue dress she wore made her light skin shine, her brown hair looked warm and her blue eyes seemed to dazzle every which way she turned. He could feel his neck getting warm and he had to force his eyes closed to keep his emotion sunder control.

When he had first met Kira, that day a decade ago, he had thought of her as nothing more than a young girl who was in desperate need of someone to care for her because her family had obviously not. Over the years which had involved constant training he had begun to see the kind of young woman she was becoming. Right this moment, she seemed a beautiful woman who had blossomed into something wonderful, and he almost wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Then, the most suspected thing of her happened. SHe opened her mouth. "I don't understand how women can walk around like this in dresses that touch the floor. They serve absolutely no purpose." Thomas placed his index and thumb on the bridge of his nose and squeazed it tightly as he closed his eyes. _Why must she do things like that? For once in her life, she looks like the young woman she is supposed to be and she goes and ruins it with complaints. _"Kira, we should start to head downstairs before everyone shows up before you. It isn't preoper for a yound lady to be late to her own ball." He could hear her inaudible sigh as she walked forward ahead of him. He momentarily let the thoughts of her beauty pass through his head before he set his mind on the duty he had this night. He was meant to protect her, no matter how safe Kira thought she would be at this, indeed, dull party. He himself would rather be horseback riding through the fields with the cold night breeze blowing passed him.

Kira could not believe how many people had showed up to this stupid thing. There would princes and knights from across the lands surrounding Antella such as the Japanese colonies and the British Kingdom. Kira wandered the room, her heart pouding from nervousness. She may not want to be there, but now that she was she was getting the jitters that normal yound ladies got when they were surrounded by people who thought her a prospect. There were very few men over the age of 25 and deffinately none over 30, but Kira all thought that they were close to her age because they were all very well-groomed.

As she wandered the room, she thought she could feel a pair of eyes constantly following her. She turned towards where she felt the follower was and she met a familiar pair of dark eyes. The same eyes that belonged to the young man that had introduced himself to her in town. Kaname. Kira quickly walked over towards him and she thought she saw a smile spread across his lips as she did. "Mr. Kaname. I was not expecting to see you here." Kira felt her cheeks grow warm, for what reason she didn't know.

"I heard that there was a lovely maiden here, and I wished to meet her. I am assuming that the maiden is you?" He smiled gentally, and Kira almost thought she saw elongated teeth in the back of his perfect jaw as he smiled.

"Lovely maiden I doubt it, but yes this is my ball. I am frightfully nervous though. I believe that my mistress means to marry me off to one of the gentlemen here, but I don't hardly know any of them." And with that, Kaname swpet her off, his right hand on her waist and his left holding her right hand. He swpet her across the floor of the ballroom in a swoft but graceful movement, and Kira couldn't tell if she was doing any of the work at all or not. She soon could feel herself smiling and watching his eyes as he watched hers. At the end of the song, he gracefully spun her towards the outside of the dance floor and stopped, helping her catch her breathe. "Kaname, you are a fine dancer. Thank you for that."

He smiled and bowed. "It was my pleasure. Now, if I may, I need to excuse myself for an excursion outdoors for a while. I will be sure to make your company later on m'lady." He took her right hand in his left and kissed it gentally and walked away.

Kira watched him walk away, and for a moment she couldn't feel the smile across her lips until he was out of sight. She placed her hand quickly over her mouth and the blush on her cheeks got darker.

Across the room, Thomas was watching the whole thing that happened. He had a deep red complexion across his own cheeks as well as a deep emotion welling up inside of the pit of his stomache as he somehow felt anger towards the thought of this Kaname dancing with Kira. He realized this as Kira began to walk towards a chair that was set up especially for her and he walked outside. He didn't understand this, but he knew that he didn't want Kira to be anywhere near that man and he wasn't sure if it was because.... no, that wasn't possible. He shook his head and took a deep breath and walked towards the garden.


End file.
